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“Today’s report from the State Services Commission shows Government departments colluded with private security firms working for oil and gas companies to spy on New Zealanders,” Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today.

“This must serve as a wake-up call for the Government and public sector about the dangers of contracting services from private firms with links to the oil and gas industry.

“The culture of collusion undermines our precious democracy, and we are especially concerned at the targeting of communities defending and protecting their local environment.

Regulations for mandatory phase out of single-use plastic shopping bags to be in force from 1 July 2019.

Associate Minister for the Environment, Eugenie Sage has today confirmed retailers will no longer be able to sell or give away single-use plastic shopping bags from 1 July 2019, after Cabinet agreed to the proposed regulations for a mandatory nationwide phase out of these bags.

“Plastic shopping bags are a hazard for nature, particularly marine wildlife. They can also introduce harmful microplastics into the food chain,” said Eugenie Sage.

Published online in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology, the scientific report details wetland loss in Southland by analysing and comparing satellite images of wetlands taken in 1990 and 2012. This covers a longer timeframe than any other Southland wetland loss study.

The Māori advisory group to the Government’s joint venture on family violence and sexual violence began their work today at their first meeting in Wellington.

“Te Rōpū marks a significant change to the way Government works with Māori to address some of our most complex and difficult problems,” says Jan Logie. “It brings together a wide range of expertise from across the motu.

The Green Party have today called on schools to follow the law and accept kids that have been denied enrollment because they have a history of truancy or no fixed address.

“As a society we often say that education is a pathway out of poverty. But if schools are turning away kids because they are struggling with homelessness, what hope do they have?” Green Party Education spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick said today.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage, in launching a new visitor behaviour campaign, says the Department of Conservation (DOC) is well prepared for a busy summer with more resources to respond to growing domestic and international visitor numbers.

“The ‘Visit the Kiwi way- Look after our place’ campaign aims to help all visitors to understand the need to have as little impact as possible on our wild spaces and natural areas,” Eugenie Sage said.

A new plan to reverse the decline of all five kiwi species was launched by Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage at a kiwi release on Taranaki Mounga today.

“The Kiwi Recovery Plan/Mahere Whakaora Kiwi 2018-2028 signals an exciting new phase in kiwi conservation, with a focus on protecting kiwi populations in the wild and increasing the populations of all eight kiwi species,” Eugenie Sage said.

“Right now, kiwi are declining at a rate of 2 per cent per year, mainly due to predation by stoats, dogs and ferrets.

The Green Party welcome today’s plan to address the synthetic drugs crisis and broader addiction problems in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Supporting people into care and recovery will be set down in law as the first measure for Police on the front lines, rather than pushing people with addiction problems down a criminal pathway,” Green Party spokesperson on drug law reform Chlöe Swarbrick said.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Justice (Domestic and Sexual Violence Issues) Jan Logie today launched a new website to provide information about justice processes to survivors of sexual violence and their advocates.

“This new online guide responds to the overwhelming feedback from victims and survivors about the need for better access to information to help them understand the justice process,” says Jan Logie.

The government that I am a part of, led by the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, has been in office for a little over one year.

In that period of time we have pursued an extensive agenda in relation to climate change action.

We have held a nationwide consultation on a new emissions reduction target for 2050, consistent with the 1.5 degree temperature threshold, and will soon present legislation to build the legal and policy framework to deliver it.